Paradise plans special meeting on trash hauling

Paradise Township supervisors announced a special meeting next week to review a controversial municipal waste service.

HOWARD FRANK

Paradise Township supervisors announced a special meeting next week to review a controversial municipal waste service.

The supervisors want to hire a township-paid garbage hauler to pick up residents' trash. A vote was planned at their regular meeting Tuesday. But facing stiff opposition from a crowd that overflowed into the hallway, the supervisors decided to postpone their decision and seek more information from residents.

The service was proposed by the supervisors following a recommendation by the township's Environmental Advisory Council a year ago. The council said illegal burning and dumping of trash in the municipality was a problem that could be partially alleviated through a townshipwide trash hauling service.

The cost of the service would be paid out of tax proceeds from Mount Airy Casino Resort, and would not create an additional tax or fee for residents, according to the supervisors. As the host municipality, Paradise received about $900,000 in 2008 from Mount Airy. The trash hauling service would account for about 40 percent of those funds.

Residents attending the Tuesday night meeting almost unanimously opposed having township funds pay for municipalitywide residential trash hauling. Many felt the funds should go toward a regional or local police department. Paradise is now under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania State Police at Swiftwater.

The supervisors decided to schedule a special meeting because the bids the township received for trash hauling are only valid for 30 days.

The special meeting will be held on Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the township building.

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